Thank goodness, long gone are the minimalist pandemic-era movies exploring, way too soon as it turns out, the effect lockdown was having on society. Every filmmaker had something to say, and so they were eager to grab a couple of actors and make a movie over Zoom. Fortunately, we’re now far enough away that those films are over, and commentary on COVID-19 outbreak can be done in a more insightful way, through dark humor and plots of murder, naturally. The cheeky comedy Coup! has a lot to say about the impact of the pandemic on different social classes, and it isn’t even about our outbreak but one more than a hundred years earlier.
Set in 1918 during the Spanish Flu outbreak, Coup! takes a satirical look at the class struggle that erupted during the period, but its commentary is quite contemporary as well, showing that history may not always repeat itself, but it often rhymes. The disparity between the wealthy, ruling elite safe in their homes while the working-class risks all during a time of mass death still feels painfully vital. But more than that, it’s the realization that times of crisis have the effect of bringing out the worst in people. While nobody in this movie is encouraging anyone to take bleach to cure themselves, the performative concern and outrage by those least at risk is just as careless and dangerous.
Peter Sarsgaard puts on a flamboyant display as Floyd Monk, a con man posing as a personal chef to sneak his way into the home of muckraking journalist Jay Horton (Billy Magnussen). A rich kid squirreled away safely on Egg Island with his wife (Sarah Gadon) and two kids, Horton has grown famous from hit pieces attacking President Wilson’s ineffectiveness to keep people safe, demanding he shut down businesses to stop the virus spread as the economy suffers and people die by the thousands. He writes blistering articles reportedly from the front lines of protests, stirring up the country into a fever pitch. In reality, Horton is nowhere near the action; safely being waited on by his staff who brave the dangers of going out for him.
Monk isn’t having this at all. Almost immediately upon arrival, Monk starts sewing the seeds of rebellion in the staff. He bristles at the rules placed on the servants, chuckles at then subtly makes light of Horton’s hypocrisies. A veteran of the Spanish-American War with a southerner’s charm and accent to match, Monk’s mischief-making has an agenda to disrupt, and even as it raises suspicions in some, his flair and dashing personality have them hooked.
As the titular exclamation point suggests, Coup! is irreverent and silly, with cartoonishly over-the-top performances and unsubtle message-making. Its greatest asset is never taking itself too seriously. Writers/directors Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman stay elusive with their ideological targets. Horton is a two-faced slimeball pushing liberal causes from the comfort of his own privilege, but Monk is hardly what one would call a populist savior.
In short, everyone is looking out for themselves. Coup! doesn’t present any heroes, and it’s genuinely fun to watch Sarsgaard and Magnussen, two brilliantly expressive actors, play bad against one another. They give this nugget of social commentary the comedic punch needed to be delivered effectively.
Coup! opens in theaters on August 2nd.
